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Scientists urge action on plastic additives linked to sperm decline
Scientists have warned that chemicals in plastics are driving falling sperm counts, after talks on a global pollution treaty collapsed over disputes about chemical regulation.
Last week, after nearly two weeks of negotiations, delegates left Geneva on Friday without agreement, after oil- and gas-producing nations objected to production limits and chemical curbs.
Almost 100 nations signed a declaration calling for a “legally binding obligation to phase out those most harmful plastic products and chemicals of concern”.
But both texts drafted by Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the negotiating committee, omitted any reference to chemical controls.
Global sperm counts have dropped by about one per cent each year for 50 years, with fertility declining at similar rates, studies show.
Obesity, sedentary lifestyles and ageing populations have been cited as possible causes, but reproductive health experts say environmental factors are most significant.
Dr Shanna Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, said the decline was “largely, but not entirely due to toxins in the environment that have the ability to interfere with steroid hormones”.
In 2017, Swan and colleagues published a meta-analysis showing sperm counts had fallen by nearly 60 per cent among men in North America, Europe and Australia between 1973 and 2011.
When they repeated the research in 2023, extending the period to 2018 and adding data from Africa, Asia and South America, the findings were even more shocking.
Swan said: “We separated the countries into western and non-western for analytic purposes, and in both we found a significant decline.
“And the other thing that we found, which was at least as alarming, was that if you looked at all of the studies going back to 1973 you see a one per cent per year decline.
“But if you look at studies published after 2000, you see an over two per cent decline.
“So the rate of decline had increased, and had increased significantly in recent years.”
The warning comes after a report published two weeks ago by Deep Science Ventures, reviewed by Swan, described chemical pollution as “a threat of a similar order as climate change”, though it receives far less attention.
Falling sperm rates since around 1950 correlate with rising plastics use. Swan highlighted strong evidence linking common plastic additives to reduced sperm counts.
Swan explained: “Phthalates are chemicals that are put into plastic to give it flexibility and make it soft and flexible.
“So any time you pick up a soft water bottle or tubing, like medical tubing, or a food container that’s soft, you’re going to be touching phthalates.
“Then, on the other side, the evil twin of phthalates are the bisphenols.
“While phthalates make plastic soft and flexible, bisphenols make it hard and inflexible. And phthalates lower testosterone and the bisphenols increase oestrogen.”
These endocrine-disrupting chemicals – substances that disturb hormone systems – particularly affect foetuses and embryos developing in the womb.
Swan had previously studied the effects of phthalates on unborn male babies, finding that exposure at critical points in pregnancy could cause subtle deformities in sexual development.
The adverse effects, known as “phthalate syndrome”, included smaller penises, a shorter distance between the genitals and anus, and, later in life, lower sperm counts at sexual maturity.
“We showed the link between the exposure and fertility,” Swan said.
“And when you see that total sperm count going down worldwide, what I believe is you’re seeing an important effect of early exposure to these chemicals.”
Swan would not be drawn into commenting on the treaty talks under way in Geneva, but said urgent action was needed on plastic additives and safer replacements.
She said: “In the meantime, yes people can be careful,.
“They can reuse materials. They should try to look at what they use in their takeout containers and carry little glass bottles around to get their drinks.
“It’s very important. But it’s not solving a bigger problem, which is how do we make these things that we have become dependent on in a safer way?”
Ovarian cancer cells quickly activate survival responses after PARP inhibitor treatment, and a lung cancer drug could help block this, research suggests.
PARP inhibitors are a common treatment for ovarian cancer, particularly in tumours with faulty DNA repair. They stop cancer cells fixing DNA damage, which leads to cell death, but many tumours later stop responding.
Researchers identified a way cancer cells may survive PARP inhibitor treatment from the outset, pointing to a potential way to block that response. A Mayo Clinic team found ovarian cancer cells rapidly switch on a pro-survival programme after exposure to PARP inhibitors. A key driver is FRA1, a transcription factor (a protein that turns genes on and off) that helps cancer cells adapt and avoid death.
The team then tested whether brigatinib, a drug approved for certain lung cancers, could block this response and boost the effect of PARP inhibitors. Brigatinib was chosen because it inhibits multiple signalling pathways involved in cancer cell survival.
In laboratory studies, combining brigatinib with a PARP inhibitor was more effective than either treatment alone. Notably, the effect was seen in cancer cells but not normal cells, suggesting a more targeted approach.
Brigatinib also appeared to act in an unexpected way. Rather than working through the usual DNA repair routes, it shut down two signalling molecules, FAK and EPHA2, that aggressive ovarian cancer cells rely on. FAK and EPHA2 are proteins that relay survival signals inside cells. Blocking both at once weakened the cells’ ability to adapt and resist treatment, making them more vulnerable to PARP inhibitors.
Tumours with higher levels of FAK and EPHA2 responded better to the drug combination. Other data link high levels of these molecules to more aggressive disease, pointing to potential benefit in harder-to-treat cases.
Arun Kanakkanthara, an oncology investigator at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “This work shows that drug resistance does not always emerge slowly over time; cancer cells can activate survival programmes very early after treatment begins.”
John Weroha, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “From a clinical perspective, resistance remains one of the biggest challenges in treating ovarian cancer. By combining mechanistic insights from Dr Kanakkanthara’s laboratory with my clinical experience, this preclinical work supports the strategy of targeting resistance early, before it has a chance to take hold. This strategy could improve patient outcomes.”
Nighttime temperatures during pregnancy may be linked to a higher chance of an autism diagnosis in children, a recent study suggests.
The research tracked nearly 295,000 mother-child pairs in Southern California from 2001 to 2014 and linked warmer overnight temperatures with higher risk in early and late pregnancy.
Children of mothers exposed to higher than typical nighttime temperatures during weeks one to 10 of pregnancy had a 15 per cent higher risk of an autism diagnosis.
Exposure during weeks 30 to 37 was linked to a 13 per cent higher risk.
Lead author David Luglio, a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University, said: “A key takeaway is that we identified specific windows when a mother and her developing child can be most affected by exposures to higher nighttime temperatures.
“This is critical and hopefully can help mothers prepare accordingly.”
The study is described as the first to examine how temperature may affect fetal neurodevelopment, the process by which a baby’s brain and nervous system form during pregnancy.
Extreme temperatures linked to increased risk were classified as above the 90th percentile, meaning 3.6°F hotter than average, and the 99th percentile, 5.6°F above average.
The association held even after researchers accounted for factors such as neighbourhood conditions, vegetation and fine-particle air pollution.
The study could not account for other factors such as access to air conditioning. Researchers did not find the same association with daytime temperatures, potentially because people spend more time away from home during the day.
“Heat waves are becoming more frequent, and people may only think of the dangers of daytime heat exposure,” said Mostafijur Rahman, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University.
“These results indicate a strong association between high nighttime temperatures during pregnancy and autism risk in children and show that we need to think about exposure to heat around the clock.”
The study did not examine how higher temperatures at night might affect prenatal development, though Luglio said it is possible that warmer nights disrupt sleep for pregnant mothers.
Previous research has suggested insufficient sleep during pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of neurocognitive delays in children.
“Extreme heat exposure during pregnancy has been linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including prenatal neurodevelopment delays and complications with an embryo’s development of a central nervous system,” Luglio said.
“The goal of our study was to specifically explore the link between prenatal heat exposure and autism diagnoses for the first time.”
Kindbody has launched a fertility platform integrating AI with clinical care and patient support for employers and health plans.
The platform will enter a pilot with select Kindbody employer clients in 2026, covering over three million lives, ahead of wider availability in 2027.
Building on the company’s clinical model, the platform aims to improve outcomes and cost efficiency across family-building journeys. It connects Kindbody-owned clinics, partner clinics and an integrated clinical app.
The app offers virtual care across conception, pregnancy and reproductive health, extending through the menopause transition.
Launch features include updates in medication management, third-party reproduction, adoption, pregnancy, men’s health and global programme design.
David Stern, chief executive of Kindbody, said: “With our next-generation fertility platform, Kindbody is redefining what comprehensive, intelligent and affordable family-building care looks like for employers, health plans and patients.
“By unifying best-in-class clinical care, AI-driven intelligence and whole-person support, we are making it easier and more cost-effective for more people to build the families they envision.”
Kindbody has expanded access via its national network of IVF centres, including IVIRMA, Inception Fertility and Ivy Fertility.
A new Fertility Medication Portal is designed to streamline authorisations so medicines can be dispensed on time, giving patients visibility from prescription to coverage, pharmacy fulfilment and delivery tracking.
Through KindMan, men’s health education, digital resources and integrated clinical care are expanding, including hormone management programmes.
Services cover andropause (age-related testosterone decline), erectile dysfunction, low testosterone and other male reproductive conditions.
Specialist fertility care includes semen analysis, diagnostic testing, male hormone panels, genetic testing, surgical sperm extraction and sperm cryopreservation.
Launching in the second quarter, a pregnancy support app will act as a digital companion for expecting and new parents, with resources, interactive tools and clinical assessments to identify social drivers of health and mental health needs during pregnancy and beyond.
Kindbody’s physician-led menopause programme provides consultations with board-certified obstetricians and gynaecologists to diagnose, treat and manage menopausal symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy where appropriate, with support from nutritionists, mental health therapists and pelvic floor specialists.
AI and analytics will be embedded across the care journey. An AI care navigator will guide employees from benefit activation through intake, triage and scheduling.
Tools will track benefits and treatment plans, showing coverage and expected out-of-pocket costs at each step.
AI-supported scribing will assist clinicians with documentation, and a predictor tool will estimate a patient’s likelihood of having a baby across different treatment paths.
In 2027, Kindbody plans a savings model for eligible large employers that it says will guarantee lower total fertility spend while improving clinical efficiency and patient experience.
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